Redgard Issues

[@donnybankstone5009]

Over a 24 year period I’ve tried all waterproofing methods…none have failed….Just make sure the pan mud is very dry or hydrostatic pressure will make pinholes….but I just do another coat….

[@eddiepullman2745]

I use red guard a lot. I use to only water proof 4ft up, now I do the whole shower. I’ve never had a pan fail. The prep work is more consequential than the tile work. I’ve seen guys who do decent work have their showers fail a few years in. Another great video, be well!!

[@StarrTile]

Agreed, prep is most important part 💯

[@kevinrobinson83]

I had one fail. I put 4 layers of Redgard down on my shower pan. Scuffed a tiny hole in a corner when using a ladder to paint. I picked it and like a sheet of tissue, ripped half the redguard off. Was told it needs to be diluted on the first coat of fresh concrete.

[@aaronkrumbach2943]

Your right, it says on the container to prime raw concrete or concrete board by mixing 1 part redgaurd and 4 parts water.

[@sunshinevapes6486]

I don't know if this will mean anything to anyone on here. Installed my own shower about 8 years ago,and did all the work start to finish. I did not even know what red guard was until I watch starrtile. Every other video I watched just said to use the rubber membrane 4ft up the wall and be done. I'm so glad that I found out what Red guard was. Because it Definitely works really well. I double coated my entire shower. When I went to My local Lowe's hardware. They had no clue what I was talking about. I had to order mine off of Amazon I think I give like $70 a tube for it, but I'm so grateful I did because my shower has held up fine. I can see directly under my shower in my basement, and it seems to not have had any problems at all. I have also kept my shower resealed every 2 years. I just use a water-based that I can reseal without having to strip it. Anyhow, I definitely believe in products like red guard I think they truly do work, well they have for me so far?

[@StarrTile]

Thank you sir for your input and your kind words

[@briand7785]

I use a presealed grout. So near 0% moisture gets through, except the pan area of course. No redguard or other water proofing, just cement board.I buy a pan or build a rubber pan. No issues in the 10+ year bathrooms I did.

[@kaboom362]

Phew.. I got concerned when I seen the Redguard sucks comment. I remember the mock up cardboard box test.

[@StarrTile]

Absolutely, I have 2 cardboard & a sheetrock box experiment..... But the video you spoke of made me a true believer 👌🏻

[@ohokayofficial]

I’m tempted to do this for key areas on a guest bathroom shower-prep.. I can’t afford to use a full amount, so I might just cost it twice over corners and the curb area? Unless that creates a problem for water to wick around anyways

[@danielg2754]

Thanks for your videos. I have one question, where does the excess water (eventually seeps through tile) around the drain go if the drain is 1/4-3/8" above the waterproof base? Any clarity is appreciated.

[@StarrTile]

Because water cannot penetrate the mortar pan it just gets absorbed into the thinset below the tile and eventually dries out between showers same as your grout... And to be fair there's not a lot of water that would get in there to evaporate anyway

[@1234tellmewhatyourlookingfor]

That comes from underneath the concrete. I use a product that penetrates the slab 3/4 of a inch.

[@StarrTile]

@@1234tellmewhatyourlookingfor wow, really ? What's it called 🤔

[@GQ-wz5it]

My red guard story…. Plumber was supposed to do the shower pan as per contract. Instead of doing it properly he tried to red guard everything in substitution of a real pan to rush the inspection and the building inspector would have passed it had it not been dripping water everywhere. The plumber was fired right after this happened.

[@StarrTile]

Interesting, and if I recall Redgard allows for it to be a pan liner if mil thickness is on point. Willing to bet that plumber had a case of OM (operator malfunction) 😂

[@GQ-wz5it]

@@StarrTile it was later discovered his rush for payment was due to a bad habit he had recently acquired 👀

[@StarrTile]

@@GQ-wz5it oh, a marriage?

[@GQ-wz5it]

@@StarrTile no but his girlfriend also dumped him over his habit after he got arrested for buying it and couldn’t deny it anymore.

[@frankly2677]

@@StarrTile😂😂😂

[@RL-mq8hy]

Been using redgard since it came out... never had a issue

[@honestabe7349]

Otherwise stated, Redguard works terrific for the purpose intended but it will not fix a terrible shower install. Love your channel.

[@StarrTile]

Thank you sir, and you stated it very well 👍🏻

[@honestabe7349]

@@StarrTile I am building my first shower and using the lessons you have taught in all your videos. It is coming out well so far with all the prep and structural work. I am a little nervous about getting the tile straight. Thank you for all your videos. They have been a blessing.

[@mikek3951]

36 years and the biggest mistake I see. Crappy prep work. The vast majority of products give directions. Sadly it does include common sense. Right now. I’m doing a chicken coop. Yes you read that right. Owner had a 16 by 14 shed. He wants it tiled in areas for easy cleaning. His older coop. I put 3 layers of red guard on floor and up wall 2 ft. It’s been 7 years and redguard holding up great. Funny but odd

[@StarrTile]

😮 But yes, I've heard it being used for other purposes, and years ago I painted it on a sheet of ply I used as the hull of my dingy and it held up 100%

[@mikek3951]

@@StarrTile a dingy. That’s cool and it worked even better. Prep is such a big thing and people miss that mark by a mile. I have seen tile guys do a bathroom in 2 days and I laugh all the time. Me I’m prepping and shooting a laser. Doing layouts. Etc. avg is 5 days for a bathroom

[@JCC56]

So many choices, what would you recommend over go board ?

[@StarrTile]

Floor and Decor sells a black backer board called sentinel and there is a couple of others out there that I like because they have a really rough mesh backing and they are foam

[@TheDAVE858]

I like the grey stuff. Red Guard & Aqua Defense are colored a bit too extreme.

[@mim6472]

Can this be used to seal a concrete slab that has excessive moisture? My condo subfloor has a lot of moisture and I need to seal it. Will there be a terrible odor or anything afterwards? I will have to do my entire condo and then put carpet over it.

[@dockersfavs3110]

Can RG be used for outdoor deck cracks? AND can you paint over RG?

[@StarrTile]

If you call Custom Building Products customer support you will have your answers, I can't speak to any of that

[@SM-dv1ru]

Nice Video, thanks for your outstanding content.

[@GKilburn-dp2ef]

Does redguard have have a shelf life? I have some extra left from a previous shower. Can I use it on one I'm doing now?

[@StarrTile]

I'm not certain of that you would have to call Custom Building Products to find that out, but the aqua defense that I used in the video referenced failed because it was over two years old and had been in my trailer for two summers and two Winters and had previously been opened

[@skol4life297]

@@StarrTileso as I understand it all of these products are liquid rubber polymers which have either acrylic or latex which helps them set quicker. Like paint they have expiration dates and they aren’t supposed to be stored in areas where they are subject to weather changes. It effects the makeup and performance of the product. If you have some leftover the should be stored just like the big box stores them climate control is necessary.

[@StarrTile]

@@skol4life297 👌🏻

[@skol4life297]

@@StarrTile love your videos brother and your straightforward attitude keep on keeping on!

[@StarrTile]

@skol4life297 thank you sir ✌🏻

[@TrueLight1611]

Hey Bob, do you do a liquid membrane on top of a mud bed thats on top of a pan liner?

[@StarrTile]

@@TrueLight1611 yes 💯

[@TrueLight1611]

@@StarrTile I've never done that. Been taught to preslope, Pan liner, and another slope of deck mud. If you use liquid membrane on top of that, wouldn't there basically be a sandwich of moisture?

[@StarrTile]

@TrueLight1611 i don't quite understand the idea of a mold sandwich with no moisture in bedded, that's the point of a sealed system vs a water in/water out system

[@TrueLight1611]

@StarrTile if you're using a traditional 3 piece drain, don't you have to do a water in water out system?

[@StarrTile]

@TrueLight1611 no you do not... look at my channel for my latest video that i put up on friday and it will answer your questions

[@johnwhite2576]

Can you explain further the gap you use on wall board so no wicking ?

[@StarrTile]

It's quite easy, you don't set your wallboard onto the mortar pan, you give it about an inch Gap, then you set your floor tile and grout that and then you set your wall tile and overlap your wall tile onto the floor

[@abacab87]

If it has redguard over it, why would their be wicking? Also, having a one inch gap just feels wrong. Doesn't water leach through the grout lines? Is there vappor barrier behind the walls which drains into the shower pan?@@StarrTile

[@StarrTile]

@abacab87 You are correct if Red Guard is done really well then having the wallboard touching the pan would not matter, but my retort to that is why would you have your wall board touching your pan if you can avoid it which you can. And no you do not put a vapor barrier on and waterproof the surface, it would be one of the other, and I can't wrap my mind around water getting through a grout line and hitting any type of vapor barrier through the wall board and running its way out into the shower, that whole hypothesis has never made sense to me

[@joseoviedo1644]

Only thing that gets me is that you use sheetrock as your backer. I can make a hole in your prep with my thumb. What do you if you have to replace a tile that homeowner doesn't like? It all just breaks apart

[@StarrTile]

What is behind the tile is one-hundred-percent irrelevant, that you are waterproofing matters, my backer board could be 8 in cinder block and I'm still not setting tile on a cinder block it is going on the waterproofer. Denshield is gypsum that's waterproofed, same thing I do...kerdi calls for sheetrock as backer board...and no, you can't put your thumb through it 🤣 (Unless it were wet). But that meant you didn't waterproof it. Look for my video "100 year shower" where builders grade 4x4 ceramic tile was on sheetrock for 35 years, no waterproofing, mastic used, blah blah blah.... I said on this video that my channel is evidence-based and I meant it, I have a video for everything you could counter 👌🏻👊🏻✌🏻👍🏻

[@joseoviedo1644]

@@StarrTile All I’m saying is your prep is very fragile. If you have to replace one single tile then you might as well replace the entire wall. Being that the Sheetrock will just completely rip apart. There’s a difference between fiberglass gypsum and regular drywall gypsum. Regular drywall gypsum re emulsifies and turns to mush and fiberglass gypsum is completely resistant to water and will not loose its shape. I don’t see what your point it. Have you ever installed anything other than 12x24?

[@ingwemalmsteen]

@joseoviedo1644 Respectfully, it seems you're not really "getting it"... if properly waterproofed, water will not reach the substrate.

[@gantz4u]

I get the concept of "if its water proofed water will not reach the substrate", but if someone looks and theres cheesy pizza boxes back there its not a good look in the long run. Cement board is moisture resistant that can withstand a damp environment, its good insurance and doesnt make you look like a goof, in a worst case scenario. Maybe in your home Ill use cheesy pizza boxes but not on my investment. You think im joking about cheesy pizza boxes but not in the single wide world. There they use a 1/16th inch board that looks like MDF with a vinyl wall paper looking material. Might as well use cheesy pizza boxes to cut costs even further. When a single wide fails it fails catastrophically. You might say "well good thing I dont work on single wides, I work on homes where we use a little better building materials" and thats where I got you, as thats where I left my traps. Some local area codes are like sheetrock? lol, stop that. Its banned there. Dont like it? start your own county. Theres plenty of land to do that. On single wides theyre like 1 inch above the shower outlet? thats where were chipping in for the good stuff and using sheetrock. That will be $70k sirs...you live in a trap house.

[@danbartstow9829]

I’ve been in the tile trade since 1985 and you are 100% correct! If it didn’t work, it would not be sold! It’s all about following the instructions…Love ya brother Tileman!

[@donnybankstone5009]

Good to see you back my friend!

[@4acrehome168]

Love your opinions man. Based on facts and common sense

[@StarrTile]

Thank you sir ✌🏻 👌🏻

[@DeAndreEllison]

I beleive that a bad application can cause failure. But one thing should be clear. If you follow the manufacturers directions for a product (any product) and that product fails using their directions for their recommended use, that is a fail. Now, if the manufacturer came back and modified their instructions to correct that failure, that is good. even what should be expected.

[@StarrTile]

It would be extremely rare for a manufacturer to back you up, that's why critical thinking is so pertinent. As I said in the video you have to take responsibility for your own work despite and regardless what the manufacturer says, the customer doesn't care.... and arguably neither does a manufacturer

[@DeAndreEllison]

@@StarrTile I agree it's rare for a manufacturer to back you up, but a failure is a failure . And I've learned in life that everyone's critical thinking isn't the same. That is the reason why the manufacturer provides instructions and recommended use in the first place. The customer shouldn't care unless you are the customer buying the product at say Home Depot. The manufacturer won't care until some holds them financially accountable by either not buying their product or organizing a class action. Or organizing a class action I bet the question will come up, "did you follow the mfg instructions. But the point to me is they sell this stuff retail to the consumer and they provide instructions that seem to not work. Then you seem to be saying you should be accountable for your own install, but the mfg should not be accountable for their bad instructions. This seems to perpetuate the mfg not caring.

[@1234tellmewhatyourlookingfor]

I wouldn't use it on floors in florida.

[@drewsday6221]

What I have been saying for many years. The guys that pull showers apart on You Tube to find out what failed in the membrane I always say you failed in your installation. I have been doing this for 40 years without any membrane products. A good professional tile job should not need all these new product. Just learn your trade.

[@ohokayofficial]

Hmm is it really a marketing scheme they’ve played on us with waterproofing products and standards? Is Durock on the walls and thinset + seam tape really enough with grout?

[@1234tellmewhatyourlookingfor]

You can get hydrostatic pressure.

[@StarrTile]

That would be a continuum and a shower is not that...a bathtub or a pool perhaps.

[@trina2366]

agreed operator issues not product issue

[@99kevin99]

Sir, I like your confidence. Any idea how Roman baths & steamrooms were "waterproofed" before redguard? I visited a Roman bath in England that still had water running thru it. Is it possible the tile and grout can provide a "waterproof" area? I will say the stone was feets thick. I value your thoughts on this as a hands-on person doing quality work. With all respect.

[@StarrTile]

So in the old countries and the Caribbean things are made with concrete and Stone, that's why things last because they can leech into Building Material or the ground...no need to waterproof, but we're protecting our sheetrock & wood

[@99kevin99]

@@StarrTile Ooohhhhhh… I get it! Using “mixed materials” in modern construction allowed humans to really advance but at the same time our structures made this way will last maybe 500-700 years with proper maintenance where old ways are 1000’s.

[@MrTooTechnical]

Great vid. Fuking awesome

[@dwsolberg]

The fact that the instructions are wrong probably accounts for a lot of the failures.

[@StarrTile]

Said the Titanic captain

[@donnybankstone5009]

Seats and curbs are potential leaks…..

[@chrisloesch1870]

I used red guard 5 years ago on a shower and it never leaked. Used it to coat the exterior t11 siding on a shed and the doors which were yellow pine and then painted it. Wood siding and doors have been through 4 winters of rain and snow and still look brand new, no rot. Stuff is amazing.

[@peterdean5300]

Good to know

[@BlameSomeoneElseForTheRest]

Many ways to skin a cat

[@StarrTile]

Indeed

[@apex007]

you mad at isaac, bro?

[@StarrTile]

Nope.... Just call out BS 😏

[@MrTooTechnical]

Where u at?

[@StarrTile]

Physically, mentally, spiritually,? 🤔

[@MrTooTechnical]

All?

[@StarrTile]

@MrTooTechnical have been a bit slow with work, and YT burnout too. Hard to come up with new info and making videos without being redundant, and with absolutely no return...so yeah, taking a break. Getting over a friendship that took a nosedive too. And working on my house I bought last year. Currently in Jamaica taking a break. Otherwise I'm ok.

[@MrTooTechnical]

Keep in touch in other ways

[@frankly2677]

Hydroban for the win 🥇

[@StarrTile]

I like it it's just twice the price of the others

[@mauisuzuki7857]

Yeah no thx, why spend that much money on material, when others like redgaurd perfectly fine if applied correctly.

[@timthetoolman9659]

I agree with you 100% ! You can F up anything if you don't use logic, some are void of some of it or simply follow rules instead of common sense

[@StarrTile]

It isn't common 😂

[@johnnybear111]

had me nervous initially

[@StarrTile]

🤣

[@jasonthomas6072]

Your the man 👨